Right when I turned 18, I moved to New York, originally for school, and then dropped out and just lived in New York.
When I moved to London I couldn't afford to rent anywhere. So I housesat for a friend of my mum and dad's - and had to look after her sickly cat. That was the only way I could survive on a meagre intern wage.
When I was thirteen years old, and we had just moved to Germany, I definitely felt I was missing out on normal teenage life. I was watching my old school friends from Canada grow up without me while I was in Germany trying to learn the language and trying to pass each year without failing.
When you've moved 13 times, you lose track of where you're from.
I wanted to write an upbeat song where I could feel good about the fact that I've moved around so much and not sad about all the goodbyes I've had to face.
I wanted to sing about things that moved me and experiences I had collected throughout life.
I went to national piano competitions and did that whole circuit. Then I played professionally to support myself when I moved out to LA.
I always tried to move up the food chain. I started with cement and then moved into textiles and banking. When I was trading sugar, I added salt and flour so that then we could do pasta. And then I thought, why not make the bag for it, too? So, we started making packaging.
Many people have told me that my books read like novels. Perhaps this is because, when I write, I feel I am really there, so strong is my feeling for my subject. On occasion, I have been so moved by the events I have been describing that I have felt like crying.
I initially moved to San Francisco to become a research associate for one of the top young heart surgeons in the country. Everything that I learned in that position is that skills, talent, and expertise are transferable.
